I Choose to Believe the Best is Yet to Come

Call me naïve.

Each morning I wake up with a heart full of joy. I do. Some may scoff, but I truly bound out of bed when my alarm goes off at 4:50 each morning fueled with the possibilities each day brings, I am refreshed with His new mercies that greet me as I sip my hot cup of coffee.

Call me naïve, but that is the kind of world I want to live in.

Call me naïve, but that is the world I want to raise my daughters in.

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I have always been called naïve, and at first, it felt like an insult. But over time and as I age, I take it as a compliment. It means I have hope. It means I am positive. It means I am not going to let the world jade me.

Momming with cancer was and is, hands down, the hardest chapter of my life. Many mornings fear tried to engulf me . . . until my daughters walked down the stairs in their footie pajamas. Then my heart settled into my chest and peace swept over me. Joy ignited in my heart.

Call me naïve.

Despite the most difficult moments I had enduring chemo or recovering from surgery, I was always yearning for the bright side.

After that, no one could call me naïve. I understood devastation. I understood loss and grief. I was no longer “naïve,” and yet, I refused to let cancer steal my tried-and-true positive attitude.

In the chemo infusion room, my oncologist always put me next to the patients she was worried about because I was chatty Cathy in the infusion room. I would walk in with my cup of coffee and just make friends. In all of my pictures, you will see me smiling because I believe you might as well make the best of wherever you are, right?

Call me naïve.

I believe in the benefit of the doubt. I sometimes wear my heart on my sleeve more than I should, but I am showing my daughters that I am open. That I am welcoming and that kindness matters.

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I believe in redemption. I believe you can completely change your life with one swift decision.

I believe in joy despite circumstances. I believe you can grow and shine regardless of how much money you make, or how perfect your marriage is, or how well-behaved your children are, or how hard you are fighting for your life.

I believe in fruits in the valley. I think we truly open the door to our new and best selves when we walk through the valley.

I believe in goodness emerging from the terrible.

I believe in fighting hard for what you believe in. I believe the world is full of distractions, but there is a place for people who dare to dream.

Call me naïve, but that is the world I want to live in.

Raising two daughters in a world today that wants to push innocence out the window is becoming more and more difficult. And yet, I continue to teach my daughters that goodness and light prevail. I encourage their innocence and guard their purity with all my might.

Call me naïve, but I believe in a world for my daughters where children act like children. Where our expectations of them are not to start adulting far beyond their years.

Call me naïve.

Life is hard enough as it is.

My daughters have already witnessed a reality in our home far beyond what any child should have to live through.

Call me naïve, I choose to switch the script and believe in the good.

Call me naïve, I choose to believe that the best is yet to come.

Call me naïve.

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